


Christmas Reunions at Target

by thornconnelly



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And they haven't seen each other in years, Bearded Derek Hale, But Laura and Cora are still alive, Christmas Fluff, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Everybody Lives, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Teacher Derek Hale, The Hale Pack - Freeform, They're both older, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Well the original Hales are mostly dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:02:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21980635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thornconnelly/pseuds/thornconnelly
Summary: Stiles is helping Scott do last-minute Christmas shopping and runs into Derek for the first time in about a decade. Christmas-related fluff follows.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 29
Kudos: 383





	1. Chapter 1

“Christmas is in two days and I can’t believe I waited this long to get all of the things on Allison’s list. Stiles, Allison was really specific! She wants cream-colored crib sheets! They only have white or tan. What are we going to do?”

Stiles opened his mouth to respond when he heard, “Stiles?” from the aisle behind him.

Scott’s expression brightened, “Oh, is that Derek?”

Stiles spun, “Derek?”

Scott nodded, smiling, as he tossed both the white and tan sheets into the cart and walked towards the end of the aisle. Stiles followed behind, dumbfounded. He hadn’t been back in Beacon Hills for more than a few weeks at a time since he graduated high school, but he was still pretty positive that Scott had said that Derek moved. He had been living in San Antonio or something like that, hadn’t he?

Derek rounded the corner of the aisle and Stiles felt his feet freeze. Derek had a beard? Stiles’ insides twisted up suddenly and he felt like a teenager again. He had kindled the biggest crush on Derek throughout all of high school, and even though Laura liked to joke about them dating, because they spent so much time together, Derek had never shown even the slightest bit of interest in Stiles. In hindsight, Stiles understood. He had been 16 when he met Derek, who had been 22 and recently out of college. And then even when Stiles was finally of age in his senior year… well, Derek had been 24 at that point, and what mid-20-something wants to date a high schooler? At the time it had hurt Stiles’ ego, but he grew to realize that it was actually totally normal.

But he had graduated almost ten years ago, and even though he had seen Derek once or twice since then, that had all been when Stiles was still in college, before Derek had moved away.

But now, Derek was standing in front of him and Stiles couldn’t take his eyes off Derek’s. Scott was hugging Derek and talking, and it took Stiles a minute to pull his focus away from Derek’s eyes to pay attention to what Scott was saying.

“... I know you said teachers are always busy, but I didn’t realize you’d be this busy! We hardly ever see you anymore.”

Derek pulled back and his eyes finally left Stiles’ as he looked at Scott. Derek smiled slightly and Stiles would have sworn that his heart skipped a beat. “College applications are due next week and that means that I’ve been working with the kids almost non-stop on their college essays. After this, I should have a lot more free time… until September, that is.” He laughed slightly and Stiles took an unconscious step forward. In the entire time he had know Derek, Stiles thought he could count the number of times Derek had laughed on his fingers. And this one had seemed so easy and happy.

“I didn’t realize you’d be in town,” Derek commented as Stiles stepped closer. They looked at each other awkwardly for a second, before Derek reached out and Stiles stepped in to hug him. Derek’s arms wrapped around Stiles and he couldn’t help but tighten his own arms and inhale. He knew his sense of smell was almost nothing compared to Derek’s werewolf powers, but he still relished in the smell of Derek. He was a little surprised that he still recognized the scent after all these years. Stiles felt his insides do another one of those flips again when Derek tucked his nose behind Stiles’ ear and inhaled deeply. He knew that scenting was important to the werewolves, but they usually only did it with pack or family members. The fact that Derek was still comfortable enough with Stiles to scent him meant a lot.

“Is that really Stiles?” another voice asked behind Derek. Stiles grinned as he recognized Erica’s voice.

“Holy shit there’s a baby in there,” Stiles exclaimed at the sight of Erica. He knew, everyone knew, that you’re not supposed to comment on pregnant women’s bodies, but Erica was huge. Plus, they had been close enough in high school that she wouldn’t be mad, right? Derek laughed quietly as he shifted away from Stiles slightly. He stayed close enough that their arms pressed against each other slightly.

Erica’s grin widened as her hand dropped to her immense belly. “Two, actually.”

“Erica and Boyd are single-handedly trying to repopulate werewolves in Northern California,” Scott said quietly with a grin.

Erica laughed, “These are numbers four and five.”

“They always wanted a big family,” Derek explained, “and between the two of them and Laura, Cora, and me, there are plenty of hands to help out. We renovated the old house so everyone fits together now.”

“Although you guys will be outnumbered if you keep going,” Scott pointed out.

“Holy shit,” Stiles murmured under his breath.

Scott leaned in close and whispered, “This is why I told you not to delete your social media apps.”

“They were distracting me from finishing my dissertation,” Stiles mumbled back.

Derek shifted a little and Stiles’ eyes were drawn to him again. “How long have you been back in Beacon Hills?”

Derek smiled, although Stiles noticed it mostly in the slight wrinkling around his eyes. “I moved back in August. I’m a teacher now, and Beacon Hills High hired me to teach 12th grade English. I was ready to come home anyway, and when Erica told me she was having twins, I knew that they would need more help.”

Stiles turned towards Scott, “We talk all the time, Scott. How have you not mentioned any of this?”

Scott shrugged, “I definitely told you Derek moved back to Beacon Hills. I know I did. Remember, it was that weekend I came down for that conference? That one in August?”

Stiles stared at Scott blankly for a moment before asking, “Was that the weekend that Jacob broke up with me? And I drank so much I blacked out?”

“Holy shit… yea I think that was the weekend.”

Stiles nodded slowly. “Yea, I definitely don’t remember you telling me… well… I barely remember you, and I don’t remember talking about anything other than how much of a shithead Jacob was.” Stiles shrugged and looked over at Derek, but was surprised by his wide-eyed expression. “What?”

Derek shook his head quickly, “No, it’s nothing, I just…”

Erica grabbed at Derek’s arm, “I am sorry to interrupt this reunion, but my bladder has about a twenty five minute timer on it and I want to get more shopping done before I have to go back to the bathroom again, so we need to keep moving.”

Derek nodded but removed his arm from Erica’s, “I’ll catch up. You aren’t moving quickly right now.” She swatted at him but grinned as she started down the aisle. She definitely wasn’t waddling. Even if she had let Stiles get away with his comment earlier, he couldn’t imagine that she would appreciate the term waddling ever. When he looked back at Derek, Stiles noticed that he had his phone out. “Can we catch up soon? Do you still have the same number?”

Stiles pulled his phone out almost instinctively. “Yea I do. You still have my number?”

Derek nods and Stiles’ phone chirps. The text from Derek reads, “ _Hey it’s me_ ” followed by the wolf emoji.

“You must have had that in your recents to pull up a wolf so quickly,” Stiles commented, but Derek was already walking down the aisle. His laugh floated back to Stiles, and he knew he was going to be in trouble.

“Shit,” Stiles whispered to himself. He knew that under normal circumstances, Derek and Erica would still be able to hear him, but he was hoping that the noises of other shoppers and Christmas music in the busy store would cover him.

“So is this going to be a 7th-grade Lydia level obsession or more like a Junior year of college crushing on your TA type thing?” Scott asked in a hushed, almost whisper as he turned and walked in the opposite direction than where Derek had went.

“Scotty boy, how can you even ask? This is obviously going to be so much worse,” Stiles grumbled as he followed. “I already have a solid half decade of crushing on Derek under my belt. I think I’m going to pick up where I left off… with interest.”

“All the puns intended,” Scott laughed.

“ _Hey me, it’s Stiles_.” Stiles texted back. If Scott was going to mock him for his puns, he was just going to have to lean into the dad-jokes. “What else is on the list?” Stiles asked.

“Just a few more things, honestly. We should be out of here soon.”

“ _Tell me you didn’t just make a dad joke_ ” Derek texted back and Stiles laughed out loud.

Stiles followed after Scott, but he was only devoting half of his attention to the things they were picking out because Derek kept responding to his texts as soon as he sent them. After a few minutes, Derek asked, “ _What are your Christmas plans?_ ”

“ _Dinner tomorrow with my dad and Scott’s family._ ” Stiles texted back. “ _Then my dad’s working on Christmas Day, so we’re having Christmas on the 26th._ ” Then “ _Wait your birthday is on Wednesday, isn’t it?!_ ”

“ _I do share a birthday with Jesus, yes. And you should come over on Wednesday if you’re just going to be alone_.”

Stiles stopped in the middle of the aisle and Scott drove the cart right into him. “Sorry dude,” Scott said leaning to the side to look at Stiles. “What’s up?”

“Derek just invited me over for Christmas Day,” Stiles said faintly. He wondered if his face looked as dumbfounded as he felt.

“Oh that’s awesome,” Scott said with a grin as he navigated the cart around Stiles. “You know you’re always welcome at our house, but you would have fun catching up with everyone. I think you should go.”

Stiles stared down at his phone as he dutifully followed behind Scott. Christmas Day was like a big deal for most people, right? Stiles was used to being alone on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve since his dad usually took one, if not both shifts so that other people could have time with their families. The holidays have been hard since his mom died, and even though his dad tried his best, Stiles knew that they were rough on both of them.

“Oh hey Derek,” Scott said after a minute. Stiles jumped and slid his phone into his pocket, but he was pretty sure that Derek had seen that he had been staring at their text conversation.

“If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to,” Derek said quietly to Stiles. Scott laughed silently and turned the cart to go wait in line at one of the registers. Scott was so good-natured he wouldn’t even get mad at Derek snubbing him so blatantly.

“No it’s not that I don’t want to,” Stiles said quickly. “I just wouldn’t want to intrude. I’m used to being alone on Christmas, or maybe going to Scott’s house.”

Derek reached out and placed his hand on Stiles’ upper arm, “It wouldn’t be an intrusion. I promise that everyone would be happy to see you. Plus the table that Laura built last year seats like twenty people, and Boyd always cooks enough to feed an entire army, so you wouldn’t be a hassle at all.”

“The more the merrier, asshole,” Erica said loudly from across the register. A few parents glared at her over their kid’s heads, but Erica had never cared about that at all. “Derek, I’m running into the bathroom. Can you make sure that none of these vultures steal from the cart?”

“Of course,” Derek murmured as he turned to go towards the cart. “Seriously though, you should come.”

Stiles found himself nodding. “I don’t have any presents,” he said lamely.

Derek grinned as he looked around the Target as if thinking, ‘so buy some.’ “Honestly, you don’t need any. Or make cookies or fudge or something.”

Stiles watched as Derek walked up to the cart parked outside the bathroom and leaned against it, satisfied with his role of cart protector. Stiles rushed to catch up with Scott and was able to help him bag everything before leaving the store. After they got finally loaded the car up and got in, Scott sighed as he put the car in reverse. “The tension between you two is insane.”

“What?”

“You, well, I think I’ve gotten used to every emotion and scent from you, but I’ve never smelled Derek like that before. It was weird and intense and I don’t really want to focus on decoding it because I’m pretty sure it was at least 60% arousal and I am just not diving into that.”

“Wait, what?” Stiles asked again.

Scott leveled a look at Stiles as they waited for the car in front of them to pull out of their spot. “Dude I know you’re oblivious sometimes, but even you should have been able to pick up on that. Or were you just too obsessed with checking him out that you didn’t notice him eye-fucking you?”

Stiles felt his lips forming another “what” when he saw Derek ahead of them loading things into Erica’s trunk. “Stop the car,” he said, unbuckling his seat belt and jumping out of the car.

Derek looked up at Stiles as he rushed towards him, a questioning smile beginning to form on his lips when Stiles reached out and grabbed both sides of Derek’s face, leaning in to press a firm kiss on his lips. Derek froze for a second, and Stiles could feel his arms flail briefly before they both wrapped tightly around his back and pulled Stiles in closer. Derek shifted his head and deepened the kiss as Stiles took a half step closer so their bodies were almost entirely pressed together. Stiles’ hands shifted back into Derek’s hair and he could have sworn that his mind went blank.

“Derek, I love you, but I’m about to kill you both,” Erica shouted through the open trunk door.

Stiles froze and pulled back slightly, his hands sliding down Derek’s neck. Derek was looking at him with the most amazing expression, and Stiles bit his lip to prevent himself from saying any of a million things.

“What was that for?” Derek whispered.

Stiles shrugged slightly, feeling Derek’s hands on his back. “I couldn’t… not. I’ve wanted to do that for more than ten years, and then seeing you today…” he shrugged again, unable to fully explain why he had jumped out of Scott’s car to kiss Derek other than it was a thing that he needed to do.

“I’m going to put this car in reverse in ten seconds,” Erica added. “Your pheromones are driving me insane and my bladder is on a tight schedule.”

“Right,” Derek said, glancing at Erica. “Can I call you when we get home?”

Stiles nodded quickly and glanced around for Scott’s car. It was at the end of the row and Stiles was grateful that Scott had neither left him nor stayed and watched the whole thing. He darted a quick kiss before waving to Erica. She threw up the finger and Stiles laughed as he jogged towards Scott.


	2. Chapter 2

Scott only gave Stiles a look when he jumped back into the car and said, “Only you, Stiles. Only you.”

“What?” Stiles replied indignantly.

“You’re the only person I know who would bump into someone in a Target and then end up making out in the parking lot.”

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest. “Dude, it’s not like it was a random person. It’s Derek! Derek broke all the rules for me in the first place!”

Stiles’ phone buzzed. “ _Since we’re being forward in our old age, we should get dinner together tonight._ ”

“ _Hell yes_ ” Stiles texted back instantly, but then after another thought added on, “ _Can it be early though? My dad should be getting home from work around 8 or 9 and I haven’t really spent any time with him since I got back_.”

“ _I’ll make sure Cinderella is home by 8 sharp_ ” Derek replied a few seconds later.

“ _Aren’t you supposed to be driving a pregnant lady? Shouldn’t you not be texting and driving?_ ”

“ _We’re stopped at Laura’s coffee shop so Erica can pick up some coffee for the house and so she can use the bathroom. It’s mostly so that she can use the bathroom, honestly. We have enough coffee in our house to turn it into another coffee shop._ ”

“ _Got it. Safety first._ ” Stiles was grinning down at his phone. “I’m going to do dinner with Derek tonight,” he announced to Scott, who returned his grin. “ _Where do you want to eat? I don’t even know what’s good around here anymore_.”

“ _I’ll pick you up at 5? Are you in the mood for Italian or Thai?_ ”

“So is Derek coming to our house tomorrow?” Scott asked as he turned onto his block.

“What?” Stiles asked looking up at Scott quickly. “Did you invite him? Was I supposed to invite him?”

Scott smiled, “We talked about it with Laura, but they weren’t sure. Erica and Boyd are having dinner with his parents, so the three of them were going to be by themselves.”

Stiles looked back down at his phone, “ _Thai. And are you having Christmas Eve dinner with us tomorrow?_ ”

“ _Oops forgot to rsvp to Scott. Tell him yes._ ”

“Derek says yes, by the way.” Stiles got out of the car to help Scott unload all of the things. “After we unload all this, I’m just going to run in and say hi to Allison and then run home so I can shower.”

Stiles grabbed as many bags as he could carry and followed Scott into the house. “Derek said they’re coming tomorrow,” Stiles said as he saw Allison. She smiled up at him as she brushed flour off her cheek with a towel.

“Christmas cookies are not my forte,” she said in response, leaning close to kiss Stiles’ cheek as he leaned in for greeting. “I’m glad they’re coming. When did you get the chance to talk to Derek?”

“Stiles is going on a date with Derek tonight!” Scott shouted from the attached garage. “We ran into them in Target and then they made out in the parking lot!”

Allison raised an eyebrow as she looked at Stiles. “It wasn’t… exactly like that,” Stiles grumbled in defense.

Allison laughed and reached out to hug Stiles. Her belly wasn’t anywhere as big as Erica’s was, but Stiles was still aware of it as he returned her hug. “Was it the beard?”

Stiles barked out a laugh. “When did that start?”

Allison shrugged as she brushed flour off of Stiles’ shoulder. “He looked like that when he moved back here in August. He’s had a beard on and off the past couple years, but it’s been constant since he came back.”

“Oh my god, please, the two of you, don’t talk about Derek Hale’s attractiveness. I can’t handle it,” Scott said as he finally came into the dining room. He looked towards Stiles, “Didn’t you want to leave?”

Stiles nodded, leaned over to kiss Allison on the cheek again, and ducked out the back door. When Scott and Allison had bought the house behind his dad’s, they installed a gate in the fence that separated their properties. Stiles appreciated it because while he was still pretty confident in his fence-hopping abilities, he hadn’t been graceful at it, even as a teenager. Now that he was in his late twenties, he was half-worried that he might hurt himself if he tried to vault the six-foot fence.

Forty five minutes later, Derek pulled up in front of Stiles’ dad’s house. Stiles happily climbed into the passenger seat, “Hey.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Derek leaned over and kissed Stiles, his hand coming up to trace along Stiles’ jawline as Stiles opened his lips and deepened the kiss. Stiles’ hand traveled over and found Derek’s chest. Derek sighed as he pulled back a few inches.

“Do you want to go eat or come inside now?” Stiles asked breathlessly.

“Are you just here for the holiday or are you moving back?”

Stiles pulled back further, fully focusing on Derek. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to rush this,” Derek said as he traced along Stiles’ jawline up to his ear, “but I also don’t want to waste time if we don’t have a lot of it.”

Stiles leaned forward again and kissed Derek, slowly and languorously. “I have to go back to finalize some things, but I’m planning on moving back around the end of January. I was going to start apartment hunting on the 26th.”

“So we have time?” Stiles could feel Derek’s grin against his lips.

“We do.”

“Then let’s go get some dinner,” Derek said, pulling back more fully and shifting towards the steering wheel. He glanced at Stiles and smiled, before reaching out his right hand. Stiles put his left in it and squeezed. The smile on Derek’s face was small, but Stiles was so excited by it.

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later and Derek reached for Stiles’ hand as they walked through the parking lot. Stiles stepped forward to hold the door open for Derek and laughed as he bowed Derek into the restaurant. He was still chuckling as he followed Derek and heard, “Oh hi Mr. Hale!”

“Hi Tahira,” Derek said with a grin. “I didn’t realize you’re working here.”

“Yea, I’m saving up because my parents said they’ll cover my tuition, but if I want to eat anything other than cafeteria food, I have to save up.” The teenager sighed but grinned as she spoke. Her smile widened as her eyes tracked over to Stiles. “Table for two?”

“Yes, please,” Derek answered.

She grabbed two menus and brought them over to a table at the far side of the dining area. Stiles pretended not to notice the girl whisper “He’s cute” to Derek, who shushed her.

Derek and Stiles just looked at each other for a few seconds before Derek picked up his menu. “I didn’t realize one of my students would be working here.”

“Mr. Hale,” Stiles said with a wide grin. “I like it.” Derek dropped his gaze to his menu, but Stiles could still see the slight coloring on Derek’s cheeks. Stiles paused before a thought occurred to him, “Is it weird, actually, for you? I mean, having a student see us here together?”

Derek shrugged slightly before glancing back over his shoulder. “I’m the advisor of the GSA at school, and Tahira comes sometimes. I trust her not to make a big deal or freak out about a teacher being gay.”

“You’re gay?” Stiles’ eyebrows had shot up as Derek spoke. The last he had heard, Derek had only dated women, and hadn’t really expressed any outright interest in men. Stiles hadn’t even been sure about Derek’s feelings until Scott had said something in the car after they left Target, and even then he wasn’t confident that Derek would receive his kiss well.

“Bi, actually,” Derek corrected. “But a random person wouldn’t know that just seeing us together.”

Stiles nodded. He had about a million questions he wanted to ask Derek, but didn’t know where to start. What were they doing? What was Derek thinking? Why was he suddenly interested in Stiles? Was it only because Stiles had made the first move? And that was only because Scott had said something about scenting their emotions, which was something he wasn’t really supposed to do, so what did that say about the fact that he and Derek were finally getting together--it was only because Scott couldn’t follow directions? That wasn’t a good way to start something. He had wanted to be with Derek since he was 16, and he didn’t want to mess it up now that he seemingly actually had a chance at this.

Derek reached his hand out and put it over Stiles’ hand on the table. “Hey,” he said quietly, “what’s going on? Your heart rate just skyrocketed.”

Stiles shifted his hand so he could grasp onto Derek’s. “There’s just so much I want to say,” he responded just as quietly. “I don’t know where to start.”

Derek laughed softly, “I feel the same way.”

Stiles nodded, trying to sort his thoughts. “You want a relationship, with me, right? Not just a hookup?”

Derek squeezed Stiles’ fingers. “Yes. I want a relationship.”

“Okay then,” Stiles picked up his menu again with his free hand, “then we can figure everything else out later.”

Derek grinned. “Okay then.”

They ended up talking and laughing all throughout dinner and when Stiles’ phone rang as they were finishing up, he almost didn’t answer, but when he saw that it was his dad, he did pick up. “Hey Stiles, I was able to finish up a little early, so I should be home by 7:30. Want me to pick up dinner?”

Stiles smacked his forehead, “Dad did you read your texts? I’m out at dinner right now with Derek. But I can bring you something home from the Thai place on second avenue.”

There were a few seconds of silence and Stiles figured that his dad was glancing at his text notifications. “I’ll take a Pad See Ew with shrimp. You don’t need to rush if you’re still eating.”

“We’re finishing up in a bit,” Stiles said, shooting an apologetic grin to Derek, who turned and got the waiter’s attention. “It won’t be too long.”

“Alright. See you soon then.”

Stiles hung up and smiled as he watched Derek order his dad’s meal for take-out and then get the check. “Can I get the bill, since we’re ordering stuff for my dad too?”

Derek shook his head, “How about we split it?”

“Derek, come on. You don’t have to pay for dinner for my dad too.”

Derek leaned forward towards Stiles. “I have a compromise then. How about you pay for dinner and tomorrow morning I take you out to breakfast at that new place across from City Hall?”

Stiles grinned. “That sounds like a fair compromise.”

After Stiles paid, Derek carried his dad’s food out to the car. They drove a few blocks away from the restaurant before Derek pulled over on a random side street.

“What’s going on?” Stiles asked as he turned to Derek, who leaned over and grabbed at Stiles’ face, coming in for a fierce kiss. Stiles responded enthusiastically and after a moment or two, their hands were roaming over each other’s necks and torsos.

Derek pulled back after a minute, a small grin on his face. “I didn’t want to do that in the parking lot of the restaurant just in case Tahira was watching, and I don’t want to do that in your dad’s driveway, but I absolutely needed to kiss you again.”

Stiles couldn’t do anything other than smile for a minute, tracing his finger along Derek’s beard. “I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Derek leaned in for one brief kiss, “No, you’re not.” One more brief kiss, “Come on, I don’t want your dad to be hangry when I show up to tell him we’re dating.”

Stiles reached over to grab onto Derek’s thigh. “You really want to? You don’t have to yet…”

Derek grinned as he put the car in drive again, “Won’t I be seeing your dad tomorrow night at Scott’s house?” Stiles nodded. “So then I want to talk to him tonight, as long as you’re okay with it?” Derek glanced at Stiles with sudden concern. “You are alright with, right?”

“Yea, I really am. I’ve just never… I’ve never dated someone who wanted to meet my dad. A couple of them were willing to… but it was definitely something I wanted, not something they wanted.”

Derek looked at Stiles with a kind of strange expression. “It might be different because I already know your dad, but I also know he’s important to you, so I would want to talk to him anyway, just because it’s important to you.” He laughed, “Although, yea, I guess we’re not really going to do things in a conventional order.”

“Yea, most people don’t get to know each other for a decade before dating,” Stiles joked.

“Also, most people don’t make plans to spend Christmas together, and then start dating,” Derek added on.

Stiles was laughing as they pulled into his driveway. He bumped into Derek as they approached the front door, and Derek snaked an arm around his waist as Stiles fished the keys out of his pocket. Derek was just leaning down to place a kiss on Stiles’ neck when the door opened.

Stiles jumped slightly and pulled his key away from the door. Derek straightened, but stayed where he was behind Stiles. “Hi John. We brought dinner.”

Stiles’ dad reached out and took the bag from Derek before pulling Stiles in for a hug. After a few seconds, Stiles’ dad reached out and pulled Derek in to join the hug too. Stiles knew his dad liked Derek, but he hadn’t been sure if his dad would make a show of giving Derek a hard time.

“Are you coming in to have a beer?” Stiles’ dad asked as he stepped back.

“No, thank you,” Derek responded. “I promised Laura I would help her make cookies tonight.”

“But you and your sisters are coming over to Scott’s tomorrow, right?”

“Definitely,” Derek responded, smiling at Stiles.

“Alright then, I’ll let you boys say goodnight. Stiles I’m going to eat this on the couch with a beer while watching Die Hard, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Stiles swatted at his dad’s back while he walked away with the food, and then turned to look at Derek. “I had a great time tonight.”

Derek stepped towards Stiles and pulled him close. “I did too,” he responded, dipping his head down to nose along Stiles’ neck. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

“What time should I pick you up?” Stiles asked as he leaned back slightly, giving Derek more access to his neck, and reached up to encircle Derek’s shoulders.

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist and pulled him closer as his lips traced along Stiles’ jawline. “Nine? And then maybe we could go for a hike or see a movie? Scott said to be there by three, and I don’t want to rush.”

“Fuck, Derek,” Stiles breathed out as Derek nipped at his earlobe. “That sounds perfect.”

Derek stepped back and Stiles was relieved to see that he was breathing as heavily as Stiles was. “I’m going to go before I tear your clothes off.” He quickly kissed Stiles on the lips before stepping back again. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Stiles waved after him, not quite trusting himself to speak yet. Derek wanted to tear his clothes off? Stiles shook his head gently. He had imagined a million different day-dreams involving Derek, but he was still struggling with the idea that Derek seemed to want him as much as he wanted Derek. And he seemed to want a relationship, something serious, not just a quick hook-up. This was better than Stiles could have possibly hoped for.

After Derek’s car turned out of sight, Stiles turned around and said, “Do you need a beer, Daddy-o?”

*

The next morning, Derek was waiting on his front porch when Stiles pulled up at 8:55. “Laura’s in a mood because she burned the first batch of cookies this morning,” he explained as he climbed into Stiles’ new Jeep. “Here,” he said, holding out a still warm chocolate chip cookie. “I stole one of the few unburnt ones for you.”

Stiles bit it out of Derek’s hand before leaning in a placing a chocolatey kiss on his beard. “Are you sparing me from Laura’s wrath?” Derek nodded and made a shooing gesture, so Stiles put the car into gear and drove off.

“Nice car,” Derek observed.

Stiles grinned, “Thanks. It’s no Roscoe, but I had to be realistic and acknowledge that I wasn’t a good enough mechanic to keep an almost 40 year old Jeep running well. But I made sure to get a blue one to honor his memory.”

It only took a few minutes Derek to direct Stiles to the new restaurant. “This whole shopping center wasn’t even built the last time I was here,” Stiles observed, looking around at all the new stores.

“Yup, if it weren’t for the preserve, the pack would be feeling pretty penned in with all of the new builds,” Derek said as he came around the car to where Stiles was still standing. He gently leaned against Stiles until he was pressed up against the Jeep. “I was thinking, by the way,” he said as he leaned closer and pressed a chaste kiss to Stiles’ lips, “that maybe you could come home with me tonight? I know it’s Christmas Eve and I don’t want to mess up any of your--”

Stiles interrupted, “I would love to. Yes. Definitely. One hundred percent.”

Derek grinned so widely, Stiles had to lean back for a second. “You never used to smile like that,” he couldn’t help observing.

Derek’s grin turned a little wry and he shrugged. “Therapy does wonders at helping people deal with trauma, as does time. But I was also trying really hard to restrain so many parts of myself that I’m more comfortable with now.”

Stiles reached down and took Derek’s hand. “I definitely know about the wonders of therapy and time, and how being open and comfortable with yourself makes a great deal of difference.” Stiles leaned in for a kiss. “You hungry?”

“Starving,” Derek practically growled, and Stiles laughed as they turned toward the restaurant.

The decor was heavily steam-punk inspired and Stiles was impressed by the different beers they had on tap. “I didn’t realize Beacon Hills even had a place like this,” he said as he looked up at Derek, but cocked his head to the side when he saw Derek’s expression. It wasn’t quite shocked, but he had definitely frozen in place.

“Oh my god, Mr. Hale, Tahira was right, he is so cute!” Stiles turned to see a teenager approaching the table holding a pad like they were prepared to take their order, even though he was pretty sure that hadn't been the scripted greeting.

Stiles looked quickly between Derek and the kid as Derek said, “Vi, you can’t just… did you guys really…?” Derek was clearly struggling for words.

“Can I take a picture of you two?” The kid, Vi, asked, pulling out a phone.

“What? No! Why?” Derek spluttered.

“Tahira messaged us on the group chat,” Vi explained, “about the cute guy you were on a date with last night, and I mean, you’re here now, the next morning, together… which implies…” Vi’s face lit up and Derek dropped his face into his hands. Stiles tried not to laugh because he could see that Derek wasn’t amused.

“Vi… you guys can’t just… talk about my dating life on your group chat.” Derek still had his face buried in his hands and his words all came about muffled. He lifted his head suddenly, “You do realize how that could be a violation of our privacy, right? And I mean… Vi you’re my students.”

Vi sobered suddenly, “Mr. Hale, I promise, it’s only on the senior GSA chat - everyone on it is 18 and we wouldn’t talk about any inappropriate about you, I promise. You just always seemed so lonely and we’ve been trying to hook you up with people all year so far, and we’re all just so happy to see you with someone so cute,” Vi looked over at Stiles, “Sorry.”

Stiles finally grinned. “It’s okay. I don’t mind, honestly. But isn’t it… kind of unethical for Derek, I mean, Mr. Hale’s students to be talking about who he dates? Couldn’t he get in trouble at school?”

Vi pulled at their short neon purple hair and nodded a bit, “I guess we didn’t think about that.” They turned to look at Derek again, who was holding his mouth and looking wide eyed between Stiles and Vi. “I promise we’ll keep everything totally G-rated. We’re just so excited to see you two together. Just think of it as modeling a positive same-sex relationship for all of us.” Vi smiled a winning smile and Stiles couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s right,” he said, turning his attention fully to Derek, “we’ll keep that in mind the whole time. We’re modeling a positive same-sex relationship.”

Derek finally dropped his hands from his face. “Just keep it inside the GSA, please Vi.”

“Of course, Mr. Hale.” Vi paused for a second and looked across the restaurant, “Do you want me to ask Benji to wait on you today?”

Derek shook his head, “No, it’s fine. I don’t want to mix up your sections or anything.”

“Thanks, Mr. Hale. So, do you guys know what you want today?”

After Vi left with their orders, Derek looked back at Stiles with the same wide-eyed look he’d had when Vi first came over. “All of my students are convinced we hooked up last night. And they’re talking about it.”

Stiles grinned, “The worst part is they’re wrong.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So I know I suggested going to see a movie or hiking in the Preserve. Do you have any preference?” Derek squeezed Stiles’ hand gently after they both finished eating. 

Stiles looked down at their joined hands, marveling that they’re actually together right now. 

“Let’s hike in the Preserve,” Stiles responded. “Movies are great, but sitting next to you without talking or making out sounds awful.”

Derek grinned broadly, “Making out?”

“Shut up,” Stiles laughed as Derek left cash on the table and they got up. Derek waved at Vi as they left and they waved back with enthusiasm. Stiles grinned and waved too and they gave him a thumbs up as he followed Derek out of the restaurant. Stiles drove towards the Preserve, but Derek directed him to a different parking area than where he was used to going. 

“There are nice hiking trails up this way,” Derek pointed out. 

Stiles hopped out and noticed Derek slinging a backpack onto his back. “Where did that come from?”

“I brought it this morning, just in case you wanted to hike. You probably didn’t notice because you were distracted by the amazing cookie I brought you.” Derek was grinning as he spoke, knowing that the cookie hadn’t been the only thing distracting Stiles. 

“God, can I just…?” Stiles stepped close and kissed Derek, who instantly wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist. 

“Yes,” Derek said after a moment, as he leaned their foreheads together. “Officially, you can do that whenever you want.”

Stiles grinned as he pressed in for a quick kiss. “Same.”

Derek slid one hand under Stiles’ shirt and chuckled as he rubbed circles in Stiles’ skin with his thumb. “Are you really moving back?”

“I am,” Stiles murmured, ducking his head so he could kiss down Derek’s neck. “My commute is going to be about half an hour, but it’ll be so worth it to be back near my dad and the pack… and you.”

Derek grinned, but shifted his attention toward the road they had driven up. “A car is coming… do you want to start the hike?”

“Yea,” Stiles said, slipping his hand into Derek’s, “show me the way.” 

“So tell me about this job,” Derek said as they began walking. “And do you have ideas for apartments already?”

Stiles laughed and launched into a monologue about his PhD and the research work he was going to be doing at the university a few towns over as well as a few studio and one-bedroom apartments he had bookmarked online.

“Hey so um… doesn’t the trail go that way?” He asked Derek eventually as they turned away from the marked path. 

“That’s the popular trail,” Derek conceded, “but there’s a group coming down the trail. And there’s a cool view over this way.” He paused and pulled Stiles close, “Nobody’s off in this direction for a while, so we’ll be all alone.”

Stiles braced himself on Derek’s chest and laughed while he ran one hand up along Derek’s jawline, “In any situation other than ours, it would be scary to be led deep into the woods to be alone with someone you just started dating.”

Derek chuckled and nipped at Stiles’ jawline, “But now?”

“I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, if you’d let me.”

Derek pulled back to look into his eyes, “Stiles?”

Stiles shook his head softly, “Sorry. My years of being in love with you are resurfacing pretty hard.” Stiles grinned wryly and shrugged one shoulder. 

Derek glanced over Stiles’ shoulder and groaned, “Come on.” He held Stiles’ hand again as they continued away from the path. “I talked to my therapist about you a lot,” Derek commented after a few minutes. He glanced back at Stiles and nodded when he saw his surprised expression. “I did. I was afraid that there was maybe something wrong with me for liking you since you were so young.”

“What? You liked me?”

Derek laughed, “Well, maybe not from day one. You were so awkward and annoying,” he chuckled again at the indignant noise Stiles made before continuing, “I mean, you were always cute, but do you remember that summer between your junior and senior years? I don’t know what you did, but you went from cute to hot basically overnight.” Derek shook his head as he reminisced, “That was a rough summer for me.”

“Oh man, you have a good poker face,” Stiles said. “I had no idea. But what about…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? It’s been nearly a decade, and we are where we are now anyway.”

“Yea, it doesn’t really matter all that much, I guess,” Derek said with a grin. “Plus, we’re here.”

“Wait, we are?” Stiles asked, glancing around. They were standing in a clearing surrounded by trees. Derek pointed at the rock outcropping near them. “We’re going to climb it?” 

“It’s easy, I promise,” he said moving toward it, “and there’s a fantastic view from up top.”

“I can’t even see the top,” Stiles protested.

“It’s there, I promise, it’s just beyond those bushes up there.”

Stiles followed and was impressed that it was in fact an easy route. There were several convenient foot and hand holds, and it was much more of a steep hill than an actual hill, and once they made it to the top, Stiles couldn’t help but whistle in awe at the sweep of the rolling hills below them. “This is amazing,” he admitted. He glanced at Derek and laughed when he saw the other man just staring at him, “What, are you going to say, ‘No, you’re amazing’?”

Derek stepped in close, cupping the back of Stiles’ head as he kissed him deeply, “No, you’re amazing,” he whispered, their lips still touching as he spoke. 

Stiles couldn’t help it and threw his head back to laugh as he braced his hands on Derek’s shoulders. 

“Here,” Derek said after a moment, handing Stiles a water bottle. “Let me pull the blanket out and then we’ll have someplace clean to sit.” 

Stiles watched as Derek pulled several things out of the backpack including trail mix, apples, more cookies, and another water bottle. 

“Hey, uh, any chance you have any lube in that bag of yours?” Stiles asked, aiming for innocent and casual, although he probably missed the mark by a mile. 

Derek grinned as he glanced up at Stiles, “I do, in fact.”

“Oh yea?”

“Yea, you got any ideas about how we could use it?”

“Oh my god, do I,” Stiles said as he crawled across the blanket and reached for Derek. “I appreciate all of these snacks, and I very much do want to eat some of them before we head back, but you have such a perfectly private spot for us that I just want to get my hands all over you.”

“Mmmmmm,” Derek rumbled into Stiles’ neck, “this location might have been strategic. And I was very proud of myself for not tearing your clothes off last night,” Derek said as he reached for Stiles’ shirt. “Can we please get some of these layers off?”

“Yes,” Stiles groaned, “Yes, please.”

*

A few hours later, Stiles parked in his dad’s driveway. At Derek’s questioning look, Stiles laughed and pointed, “We’ll walk through the yards. There’s kind of no point parking at Scott’s and then driving home later.”

“I guess I didn’t realize the yards connected,” Derek laughed as he walked around the car to meet Stiles at the front. He reached out and tangled his fingers with Stiles’, “You’re sure there’s no leaves or anything in my hair?”

“No, but let me check again,” Stiles said with a grin as he ran his hands gently through Derek’s hair before reaching down and fondling his beard. “You’re all set. What about me?”

Derek’s eyes glinted as he leaned in, “You look perfect.”

“But?” Stiles asked, wrapping his hands around Derek’s waist. “I heard a silent ‘but’ in there.”

“But… I’m glad your dad is human, because you smell…” he ducked his nose down so he could run in along Stiles’ neck, “you smell like you’re mine.”

Stiles shivered and groaned softly, “Damn it, Derek, that shouldn’t be as hot as it is.”

Derek nipped lightly at Stiles’ neck, “And you’re still coming home with me tonight, right?”

“Oh my god, I want to come home with you every night,” Stiles said breathily as he held onto Derek’s shoulders. Derek pulled his head up then and stared at Stiles with wide eyes. “Shit, I’m sorry,” Stiles said, tensing up. “I know, I know, it’s too soon and it’s my stupid teenage brain taking over again and--”

Derek interrupted him by leaning in for a kiss. “Hush,” he said as he pulled back slightly. “I know you said you’re going to look for apartments, and that you have to go back to LA for a couple weeks, but… I want to spend as much time together as we can before then… and afterwards, when you come back…” Derek sighed and grinned at Stiles ruefully. “I don’t want to miss out on any more time with you.”

“Ditto,” Stiles said with a wide grin. “Ready to go greet the pack?”

Derek nodded and tangled their fingers together again. Stiles led the way through his backyard and into Scott’s. 

“Merry Christmas,” he called as he opened the back door into the kitchen.

Melissa’s eyes widened when she saw Stiles and Derek walk in, still holding hands, and she broke out into a wide grin as she pulled them both into hugs. “Scott said the two of you ran into each other in Target yesterday.”

“And then guess who dropped off dinner for me?” John asked with a grin as he walked into the room. “After their date?”

“Dad,” Stiles reprimanded, which only prompted a laugh from his dad as they stepped in and hugged each other. 

“Hi John,” Derek said with a grin as he stepped up to hug Stiles’ father. “How was your dinner last night?”

“Delicious. I always enjoy when Stiles lets me eat carbs without trying to guilt trip me. You’ll have to join us next time.”

“I’d like that,” Derek said with a grin, glancing over at Stiles.

“Definitely,” Stiles said with a grin as he stepped close and looped an arm around Derek’s waist. He turned and pointed at his dad as Derek wrapped an arm over his shoulder, “But don’t think Derek’s presence will always mean you can get away with eating whatever you want.”

Allison and Scott came into the kitchen, and Stiles didn’t miss the slight twitch Scott gave as he stepped in to hug Stiles. “Really?” he whispered, which caused Stiles and Derek both to laugh. 

Laura and Cora showed up later, and even though they both laughed at Derek when they came in, they greeted Stiles warmly.

“I won’t tease either of you yet,” Laura said when they were cleaning the table after dinner. “I can tell you’re both really happy and I don’t want to spoil anything.” She pointed at Derek, “But just know that it’s coming.”

He laughed heartily and Stiles couldn’t help but stare at him with wonder. The old Derek he knew would have never laughed like that, but this was so much better. He reached out a hand and Derek took it without hesitation, bringing it up to his mouth so he could press a kiss to Stiles’ knuckles. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Laura,” he murmured without looking away from Stiles. 

“God, you’re so cute that it’s gross,” she said with a grin. “I’m going to go hang out with the pregnant lady.”

*

Stiles dropped onto the bed beside Derek, glanced at the clock and grinned. 11:58 pm. 

He and Derek had stayed at Scott’s until the others had started leaving and then brought Derek back through the yard so he could grab some clothes and his toothbrush from his suitcase before they both climbed into Stiles’ Jeep.

“That probably would have gone a lot faster is you took your hands off me at any point,” Stiles had laughed as he pulled out of the driveway. 

“Probably,” Derek had agreed, “although it would have been at least half as fun. Also, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one being handsy in there.” 

They had chatted and joked as Stiles drove to Derek’s house, holding hands basically the hold time. When they got into the house, Erica had thrown popcorn at them and told them that they were required to open presents with her kids, who would be waking up no later than 7am. 

Derek had locked the door behind them, reminding Stiles that all the bedrooms had additional sound-proofing, since everyone in the house had heightened hearing. They had torn each other’s clothing off in almost record time and showered together before falling into bed.

Stiles chuckled, rubbing one hand up his sweaty chest. “Mmmm?” Derek questioned, turning to face him. Stiles just shook his head and smiled as he thought about how happy he was, reaching his hand out between them. Derek instantly laced their fingers together and grinned. “That was amazing,” he said softly, bringing Stiles’ fingers up to kiss them.

“I almost wanted to make a joke about how we could do better… but I can’t.” Stiles chuckled and glanced at the clock again. 

12:00 am. 

“Hey Der?” 

“Hmmm?” he asked again, this time shifting closer so he could nuzzle into Stiles’ neck. 

Stiles wrapped an arm around Derek’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to his hairline. “Happy birthday.”

Stiles could feel Derek’s wide grin as he kissed his neck and squeezed his waist. “Merry Christmas,” he replied, shifting so they could languidly kiss, before resting his head on Stiles’ shoulder again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks this was like, tooth-rottingly sweet the entire time and I hope ya'll enjoyed it! ((I just want these boys to be HAPPY))


End file.
